CLINICAL PHARMACY AND PHARMACY PRACTICE

Background: Vaccines remain one of the most successful and cost-effective measures for combating COVID-19. However, vaccine hesitancy which refers to delay in acceptance of vaccination despite availability of vaccination services (MacDonald NE and SAGE working group, 2015), could pose a serious problem for COVID-19 prevention and control. Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the level of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among staff of the institution and factors associated with it. Methods: The study design was a cross sectional retrospective study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The
questionnaire was shared to the staff in their various offices. The outcome measures were participants’ demographics,
participants’ knowledge of the disease, and of course the proportion of participants already vaccinated; vaccine hesitancy rates and reasons for this hesitancy. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23 and Minitab version 19. Bivariate analysis was
performed by the chi-square test, and statistical significance was accepted when p-value is < 0.05. Results: Only 140 of the study
responses were analyzed. Results showed that only 42, representing just 30% of the surveyed participants have been vaccinated; whereas, 98 participants representing 70% of the study respondents have not been vaccinated/ hesitant to get
vaccinated. Vaccine safety concerns (31.4%), vaccine effectiveness (27.1%) and availability (15.7%) major of their hesitancy
towards getting vaccinated. Nature of job (whether academic or non-academic) with p=0.032, years of experience with p=0.004, and educational level with p=0.002 may have significantly influence participants decisions towards the vaccine. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is high among staff of the University of Benin and
this is attributable to concerns surrounding the vaccine safety, effectiveness and availability. Keywords: Corona virus, vaccine, hesitancy

Background: Improper disposal of unused and expired medications poses public health and
environmental risks. Medications discarded in household waste or flushed into water systems
contribute to pollution, antimicrobial resistance, and accidental poisonings. This study assesses
awareness and disposal practices among patients at the Consultant Outpatient Department
(COPD) of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
Objectives: To evaluate patients’ awareness of proper medication disposal, identify common
disposal practices, and assess associated environmental and public health risks.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire
administered to 270 UBTH COPD outpatients. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27,
with descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Among respondents, 185 (68.5%) had unused or expired medications. The majority,
229 (84.8%) disposed of them in household waste bins, while only 8 (3.0%) used take-back
programs. Additionally, 25 (9.3%) flushed medications down the toilet. Although 216 (80.0%)
recognized the risk of accidental ingestion and 172 (63.7%) linked improper disposal to
antimicrobial resistance, only 53 (19.6%) had received proper medicine disposal education. A
significant relationship existed between educational background and awareness (p < 0.05), but
awareness did not always translate to safe practices.
Conclusion: A gap exists between awareness and safe disposal practices. Unsafe disposal
remains prevalent, highlighting the need for public awareness campaigns, regulatory
enforcement, and accessible take-back programs.

Introduction: Antibiotics have played monumental role in the control and management of infectious disease since their discovery, saved lives of countless patients and improved patient care in general. However, antibiotic misuse and unnecessary use of antibiotics contributes to the process of antibiotic resistance, which is considered a global concern.The population plays an important role in abuse or irrational use of antibiotics and spread of bacterial resistance.
Aim of Study: To assess the public perception towards the use of antibiotics.
Methods: A cross sectional 20 - item questionnaire survey involving a convenience sample of 611 individuals was conducted in Benin City and Lagos State. The questionnaire consists of two sections; the first section comprises of socio-demographic data including age, gender, occupational status, educational level, marital status, monthly income. The second section consists of 20 items which collected data about perception towards antibiotics use. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and inferential analysis was carried out using GraphPadInstant version 3.10.
Results: From this study, a total of 611 respondents participated out of which 602 questionnaires were completed appropriately therefore giving a high response rate of 98.5%.Those who were students had a higher perception of 69.88 ± 11.60 compared to those who were self-employed (63.52 ± 10.28) while respondents with a tertiary level of education had a better perception (70.37 ± 11.72) compared to those with a secondary level of education or lower. Older respondents had a high perception towards the use of antibiotics however in comparison to more than half of the respondents who were females; male respondents had a better perception towards the use of antibiotics. None of the items loaded had values < 0.4 which indicates their adequate contribution to the summary scores.
Conclusion
This study revealed that occupational status and educational level of respondents was significantly associated with perception towards antibiotic use.